You've heard of it. You know you probably need to do it. Heck, we've talked about it often on our blog. But one question remains.
What is viral marketing?
Seriously, what is it? Most people really don't know, even though the term is so widely used among savvy business people like yourself.
Viral marketing is a method of creating "talk" about your product or service through the use of social networking. It employs the use of blogs, Facebook, Twitter, your web site, and other online means to draw attention to your brand name.
Sound easy? You may be amazed to find out that that's not the case. Simply putting up a few Facebook posts really isn't enough and won't do much of anything for your business. It takes a great deal of planning, care, and time to maintain an effective viral marketing campaign. Good writing and the use of effective key words are absolutely crucial. Coordinating all of the social venues is not an easy task, nor is writing good copy to engage your potential customers. Clients have told us that they "get it" when it comes to viral marketing, and that they know they need to do it, but with all other aspects of business, they just don't have time to do it, and do it successfully, to make it work. That's why they rely on us. Libra Design and Media focuses on viral marketing to make your business shine.
Similar to advertising in that it helps create brand awareness, viral marketing has an advantage over advertising because it reaches your potential customer directly. Advertising is a grey area of marketing that reaches only a small percentage of readers that encounter your ad. Viral marketing, on the other hand, works to reach the consumer several times while they're engaged and looking for information. When they're reading their Facebook page or an article, for example, they're engaged in reading. They have time to read, and they're looking for information. Advertising, on the other hand, involves placing your ad amidst other competing ads and editorial content. Use yourself as an example in this quick test. When you read a magazine, are you looking for the ads and remembering them, or are you reading the articles and remembering what the articles said? Can you remember the last magazine that you read, and name 5 different ads with the products they were selling? Viral marketing focuses on using the articles, thus the reason why it's so successful. Our favorite part, though, is that advertising is expensive, while viral marketing is, as the spring birds sing, "cheap, cheap!" Cheesy comment? Yeah, we think so, too, but it's a point well made, and one to remember as you're considering viral marketing. You can do this without breaking the bank.
Though brand awareness is ultimately the most important part of viral marketing, there's also your Google page rank to consider. Go to
http://www.checkpagerank.net/ and type in amazon.com. Amazon, one of the most popular web sites on the 'net, is a Page Rank 9, PR9, 9/10, or otherwise stated, has "scored" 9 out of 10 possible page rank "points" based on the popularity of their site.
Now, go to this link again, and type in your own URL. If your site is ranks at a PR5 or below, you need to focus on viral marketing. Viral marketing works to increase your page ranks. We know you already know this, but we'll say it again. The higher your page rank, the more likely your potential customers are going to find you on the internet.
Convinced yet? Basically, the businesses that tend to be the most successful when the economy is down are the ones that are effectively and steadily using viral marketing. Top 5 reasons recapped? Here they are.
5. Viral marketing reaches your potential customers when they're looking for information.
4. Viral marketing reaches your potential customers while they're talking to their friends, or in essence, when they have time to check out your business and talk about it to others.
3. If you don't reach your potential customers while they're on Facebook, you still have other ways of reaching them. There are many viral marketing venues to be used, all of which coordinate with one another to make your campaign successful.
2. Using viral marketing can help increase your Google Page Rank, which will help your potential customers be able to find your easier online.
...and the NUMBER ONE REASON why viral marketing is best for your business is...
1. It's cheap!
Starting a campaign can be a tough choice if money is tight and time is short. If you're in these shoes, like many business owners in this tough economy,
contact us today. We'll make it easy on you, and best yet, easy on your budget. Drop us a note and find out today how affordable it is to start viral marketing!
